A Quick Thank You

So, my mom had asked me to make her a thank you card for her friend. Of course, I do not have a problem with doing that for her. My mom would do anything for me, cuz she's a mom & that's what we do. The problem is that she asked me during one of our Sunday morning, hour long conversations.  "Hey, can you do me a favor and make me a thank you card for my friend that let me borrow her drapes until I get my new window treatments?" Haha. Lending drapes? That's an interesting favor.  "Sure, no problem at all. So, guess what Darien did the other day...blahblahblah"  In one ear and out the other.  Immediately.  Seriously, it was a good couple of days before I even remembered that she asked me for a card.  It's not that she needed it right away (let's not get her started on why she didn't need it right away), but when I remembered that she had asked me, it was like a jolt. Oh, man, my mom needs a card!  So then I had to figure out what I wanted to do.  Colors? Theme? Stamp set?  Golly gee, what should I do?  I think I find it harder for people I don't know.  It's not that my cards are part of some secret society and only "we" understand our cards and really "get it".  But sometimes I see people's reactions to handcrafted (because homemade is for cookies...mmm, cookies) cards and they're like, what the heck is this hokey crap?!  So I finally went for simple, elegant, classic and down to earth all rolled into one.  And then when my mom saw it, she told me that the damask in the card looked just like the pattern in the drapes.  So, this long babbling story is my way of letting you guys know that I'm psychic!  Isn't that the coolest?

Stamps: Damask Designs & Year of Flowers: Violets (PTI), Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Raspberry Fizz (PTI), Paper: PTI white

For My Baby

Ok, so this week Shawn & I celebrated our anniversary.  And I may have mentioned that he can be difficult to buy for. Really difficult.  So I tend to just go the safe route.  I make him stuff.  Usually it's met with, "ohhh,  cute." And not in a mean way, but how many cards & frames can you get excited about? This time, I figured, since our anniversary is about us, I'd make him a little book.  Oh, yeah, the coaster book is back. I LOVE these! And surprisingly, so did he...

When I saw this set from Dawn, I knew I had to buy it & just what I would do with it.  Of course, I plan on using it for the girls, too, on cards & projects for them.  I totally have a list of things I love about all of them!

(Darien took these a loooong time ago, back when

she was our only kid!)

So, as people see the book (ok, the girls, my friend & even Shawn), the first thing they say is, "you guys look so young!" Um, thanks?

(Hmm, she probably took these, too. These are both in Vegas.)

I do have to say that going thru 18 years of pictures was fun,  even tho some of them (ok, most of them) are actual printed pictures, so they had to be scanned. Scanning + lazy me = not fun. But, he's worth it.

(Left: at a 49ers game in December.

Right: us being silly at Pika Pika)

So there you have it. Another fun project. I love when things come together just right and it gets appreciated all at once! Of course, it wasn't smooth sailing the whole time. I had to do this last page on the right 3 times! It started out with 5 little pictures on it. I glued them on, was thrilled, thought I was done & then remembered I still had to put a hole in it. Well, would've gone right thru Shawn's head. Probably not very sweet. So then I had to put it all away for a few days while he was home. 3 days later, went back to work on it and this time used 2 pictures. Got so wrapped up in the pictures that I totally forgot about the 'hole' thing. Ugh! Really? Ok, focus! One picture. Check. Room for the hole. Check. Done!

Card: Which was inspired by this card by the faboo Maile Belles

Stamps: Top Ten & Top Ten Additions, Fillable Frames 1, A Little Argyle (PTI), Ink: Dark Chocolate, Enchanted Evening, Spring Moss, Spring Rain, Ripe Avocado, Scarlet Jewel & Ocean Tides (PTI), Elegant Eggplant (SU!), Antique Linen Distress (Ranger), Paper: Rustic White & Kraft (PTI), Accessories: FF1 die, Dark Chocolate button (PTI), twine

Book:

Stamps: Top Ten & Top Ten Additions, Vintage Labels, Fancy Flourishes, Around & About Sentiments, Giga Guidelines, Turning a New Leaf, Background Basics: Petal Power (PTI), Inkadinkado hearts, Ink: Dark Chocolate, Spring Rain, Ripe Avocado, Scarlet Jewel & Hibiscus Burst (PTI), Creamy Caramel (SU!), Paper: Rustic White (PTI)

Happy Happy Birthday

Ok, I'm still lovin' my argyle stamps.  It's just such a fun set!  I had a difficult girl to make a card for, so this is what she's getting.  It's more girly in person, cuz you can actually see all the glitter I threw on it. I dotted the intersections on the green diamonds and filled the candles with some Stickles.  It's girly without being too foo-foo about it, much like the girl.  And she's one of the few girls I know who likes green.  Altho, I like green...paper...with numbers & dead Presidents on it. But that's me.

Anyway, I'm really loving the next post I'm doing for you guys.  It's another project of mine and I'm super proud of how it turned out. Now all I need to do is get some good pictures of it. We all know how good I am at that!

Stamps: A Little Argyle, Cupcake Collection & Fillable Frames 1 & 2 (PTI), Ink: Fresh Snow & Spring Moss (PTI), Versafine Onyx Black, Paper: white & Spring Moss (PTI), Accessories: Fillable Frames #2 die (PTI), corner rounder punch

Celebrate...Cupcakes!

Ok, somehow I got crazy behind on my card & gift making.  This card went out the day before the recipient's birthday. That's cuttin' it close for me!  I always have a 2 day cushion, just in case.  Not knockin the USPS, since that's my daddy, but you never know.

I also found that as excited as I was about this cupcake set, I'm having a hard time using it. I'm not sure what my problem is, I just get blocked.  I find I can't get the colors or the placement to work and bring me the kind of happiness I get from actually eating cupcakes.  Oh well. I've got plenty of other things I've got to get done in the next month. A graduation card, a couple of non-cupcake birthday cards, an anniversary gift & card (i think you're gonna like this one) and the cards & gifts for the staff at the elementary school.

Oh, yeah. One more little thing. If you visit Nichole's blog on a regular basis, you might recognize this card. Yeah, I stole it. Hers {scroll doooowwwwn, you'll hit it} was so visually stunning & exciting, I couldn't wait to make one just like it. So I did.  Ok, maybe not just like it, but you can tell where I got my idea. *sigh* She's my stamping hero. K, gushing over. Just wanted to give credit where it was due.

Stamps: Polka Dot Basics & Cupcake Collection (PTI), Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Hawaiian Shores, Sweet Blush & Hibiscus Burst (PTI), Paper: PTI white, Accessories: randomly placed Stickles, black pen & ruler

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day, everyone.  Since I forgot to do this post before Mother's day {sorry, mom}, I'm just throwin' up the pictures and will be done with it.  Tiara's awake and wanting her mommy time, so I'm going to go enjoy my day with my kids.  Well, kid, for right now. Those other 2 are teenagers, so they'll probably be asleep for awhile.  So go enjoy your day!

Stamps: Asian Fusion, Delightful Dahlia (PTI), Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Hibiscus Burst & Pure Poppy (PTI), Paper: white, black, Hibiscus Burst & Pure Poppy (PTI)

Mmm, Cupcake!

I looooove cupcakes. I don't eat them too often, cuz, you know, they're not good for you & all that junk. But they are just so nice and enjoyable to put into my mouth.  You know it's gonna be a good one when you have a hard time fitting the tippy top of the icing down to the bottom of the 'cake all in one bite.  And turns out, I'm picky. Chocolate cupcake. Vanilla cupcake. I'm good. But now, there's more wild & exotic flavors.  You get into those fancy, gourmet flavors and I start to get nervous.  Why must we mess with what's already workin'?  Banana? Raspberry? Peanut butter?  Ohhh, they just sound wrong for a cupcake.  But that's me. And don't get me started on icing! I prefer buttercream (hey, if you're gonna do it, do it right!), but if forced, I will eat a cream cheese or whipped frosting. You know, if you're gonna twist my arm...I am starting to venture out, tho. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we do have quite the variety of food.  And I'm on a quest for the best cupcake in the Bay. (ok, not in any official capacity, but it sounds more legitimate when phrased that way, right?)  I've got some places that I've mentioned to my husband, so when he's at work, I say, "Hey, if you happen to pass...could you pick me up...?"  Oh, sure, I can stick a label on it & say I'm doing research (for what? i have no idea) or something, but let's be real. I just want a good cupcake every once in a while to make me happy. And if I'm happy, everyone else in the house stands a better chance at being happy too.

Stamps: Cupcake Collection & Vintage Labels (PTI), Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Raspberry Fizz (PTI), Paper: white & Lemon Tart (PTI), Accessories: Prisma glitter, Raspberry Fizz satin ribbon (PTI), Copics~ RV21, RV23, Y00, Y21

Little Boy Blue

K, you know how I'm not the biggest fan of making the male card? Well, if they could all just be this easy & come out like this, I'd have no problem at all.  When I saw that this airplane set was being released by Papertrey, I thought, well, there's $5 (yes, $5!) I don't have to spend.  But then I had this feeling that I should go ahead & get it, just in case.  Now, I know you're probably thinking I say that about all of their sets.  But no, I really do have some sort of self control.*  Now, if you were to ask me about the argyle set...the second I saw that one, I knew I had to have it. I love this set! Oh, the color combinations! Consider yourself warned: you will be seeing plenty of this set in the future.

Oh, and just a little FYI for my mom and anyone else who hasn't done this yet. The clouds (how cool are they?!) are a scalloped circle that I cut in half. Then, I just sponged blue ink over the edge of the scallops onto my white paper. Easy peasy!

Stamps: A Little Argyle & Fly Away (PTI), Ink: Spring Rain & Enchanted Evening (PTI), Versafine Onyx Black, Paper: white, Spring Rain & Enchanted Evening (PTI), Accessories: scallop punch (SU!), Copics~B41

*This is a total lie. I have zero self control. I love PTI. If I don't own it, I must not be in love with it. And even then, I will probably own it one day anyway.

Happy Birthday Madeline

Oh, the problems I had with this card!  It went poopy from beginning to end, even to taking the picture of it. I won't bore you with all the details like I did last year, but man! I think when it comes to this darling girl, I've got some seriously bad juju going on.  Oh!  She's also getting it late. Crikey! I was doing last minute stuff trying to get it ready, then my weekend went bonkers (i even saw her! but it was a surprise, so i was totally unprepared and didn't have it on me), then I didn't feel well, so I promptly forgot about it and then finally mailed it. Phew!  I think once I get all my May & June cards & projects done (which is A LOT), I'm gonna start on her card for next year.  Allow extra time for all those boo-boos.

Stamps: Butterfly Dreams, Background Basics: Petal Power (PTI), Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Orange Zest, Fresh Snow (PTI), Paper: white & Scarlet Jewel (PTI), Accessories: Nestabilities, Butterfly Die (PTI), Copics~

Happy Birthday Kimmie!

Ok, I finally find the time to come back & post something & blogger is being weird. So I'm going to keep it short for my sanity. This is going to be the year of 17 year olds around here, so this is just one card in a long line of them to come, I'm sure.  Darien's friend turned 17 the other day and she needed a card really quick (or, a really quick card) to give to her at dinner that night.  Tia, Krista & I went thru my cards on the computer looking for something to CASE.  I found this one and this is what I came up with.  It goes so much faster when I can just copy something. Glad I didn't approve of copying when I was in school or I would have learned nothing!  Oh, yeah. Don't get sick of the butterflies yet.  If I ever get this other one finished (the one I'm stuck on & the reason I've posted nothing in days!), you'll be seeing even more butterflies. And then I'm done. For now. Maybe. We'll see.

Stamps: Vintage Labels, Butterfly Dreams, Polka Dot Basics (PTI), Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black, Hawaiian Shores (PTI), Paper: Hawaiian Shores & white (PTI), Accessories: Nestabilities, Butterfly die (PTI), Copics (BG18, BG13, BG11)

Birthday Dahlia

Ok, while this flower is oh so lovely, I'm not thrilled with the card. I have thoughts of future versions and ideas of how to make them oh so lovelier, so be on the look out for that.  And this card had started out completely different. I had the flower cut out all ready for something else and that totally tanked.  But it was already colored and soo pretty, so I had to do something with it.  And this is that something.  Oh man, I cannot wait for the better versions.

I do have to say that these Papertrey dies are just amazing.  Dies made for stamps? Or, stamps made for dies? Whichever.  There is genius behind that idea and I'm lovin' it! I'm hoping for dies for some of the older sets, like Tea for Two.  I believe I would use that teapot more if there were a die for it.  Oh! Or Friends til the End. I know you guys aren't sick of me using that one yet!  Ha. Or, maybe not. At any rate, if PTI keeps making them, I'll keep buying them.

Stamps: Delightful Dahlias (PTI), Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Paper: Pink Pirouette (SU!), white (PTI), Accessories: Delightful Dahlias dies (PTI), Copics~